A timeline of events in the felony child abuse case of Gwinnett couple Recardo and Therian Wimbush.
June 2014
Recardo, 33, and Therian, 37, Wimbush turn themselves in at the Gwinnett County jail to face allegations that they locked the oldest of their 10 children in a basement bedroom for about 18 months as punishment for allegedly stealing, lying and improperly touching at least one of his siblings. The parents are arrested and jailed on child cruelty charges. The children are taken into state custody.
The arrest warrants arose out of an investigation by the Department of Family and Children Services following an anonymous tip.
July 2014
The Wimbushes are denied bond and ordered by Gwinnett chief magistrate Christina Blum to remain in custody. Blum was afraid that if released, the couple might try to influence. the testimony of their children.
October 2014
The Wimbushes enter a not guilty plea in the felony child abuse case against them. They argue they were properly disciplining the oldest son and protecting the other children from him when they locked him in a basement for 18 months as punishment for various offenses.
RELATED: 5 things to know about Recardo Wimbush
February 2015
The Wimbushes agree not to seek custody of their 10 children. The couple had remained in jail since being arrested in 2014. A judge allows the Wimbushes to receive letters from their 10 children while in jail.
March 2015
The Wimbushes reverse themselves in a previous decision not to seek custody of their 10 children, but a Gwinnett judge rules they cannot change the agreed upon consent order.
May 2015
In a custody hearing with Gwinnett Juvenile Court, Therian Wimbush testifies about and justifies her decisions as a mother, including having a miscarriage at home and burying the baby's remains in a flower garden. Therian says two of the other children helped in preparation for the miscarriage, but denied witnessing it.
August 2015
Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers recuses herself from the Wimbush's child cruelty case. Therian Wimbush had filed a lawsuit in June against Beyers and 12 other people connected to the case, including two other judges and six Division of Family and Children Services employees, for allegedly slander her family through disparaging statements.
December 2016
The Wimbushes deliver a handwritten "plea offer" to the Gwinnett district attorney's office asking for their charges to be dropped and for the county to give them more than a half billion dollars in "restitutionary redress."
January 24, 2017
Trial begins. Recardo and Therian Wimbush are charged with child abuse and false imprisonment. The Wimbushes, who have remained jailed since their arrest in June 2014, represent themselves.
January 27, 2017
Recardo and Therian Wimbush are found not guilty of first degree child cruelty charges, but guilty on lesser cruelty charges by a Gwinnett County jury.
January 30, 2017
Recardo and Therian Wimbush are each sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years probation. They will not be able to contact the two abused sons until each boy is 21 years old. They are currently 16 and 10 years old. The couple is allowed supervised visits with the other eight children, but the parents cannot initiate contact with them.
